Development and validation of the Diabetes Medication System Rating Questionnaire-Short Form.

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology and Metabolism
• Psychometrics
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The Diabetes Medication System Rating Questionnaire (DMSRQ) is a comprehensive tool for assessing patient perspectives on diabetes medication systems.
• A lengthy 54-item questionnaire can pose a burden on participants, potentially impacting data collection efficiency and response rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a concise, short-form version of the DMSRQ.
• To ensure the short-form maintains the psychometric properties and domain coverage of the original long-form questionnaire.
• To provide a more efficient and less burdensome assessment tool for diabetes medication systems.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the DMSRQ validation study to select 20 items representing nine key domains.
• Online administration of the 20-item DMSRQ Short-Form to US adults (N=413) with Type 2 diabetes.
• Validation against criterion measures of treatment satisfaction and medication adherence, with a 2-week retest for reliability assessment.

Main Results:

• The 20-item DMSRQ Short-Form demonstrated strong internal consistency (median inter-item agreement 0.76) and excellent test-retest reliability (median scale reliability 0.86, total composite 0.95).
• The short-form showed significant correlations with criterion measures, with median correlations of 0.59 for treatment satisfaction and 0.42 for adherence.
• The DMSRQ Short-Form scales were more effective predictors of adherence than treatment satisfaction measures and differentiated between users of different diabetes medications and delivery devices.

Conclusions:

• The Diabetes Medication System Rating Questionnaire Short-Form is a reliable and valid measure.
• The short-form offers a comprehensive assessment of diabetes medication systems with reduced participant burden.
• This validated tool can enhance research efficiency and patient-centered care in diabetes management.